


Worth the Price

by nagi_schwarz



Series: The Oppenheimer Effect [77]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-31 03:26:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10890720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/nagi_schwarz
Summary: Written for the comment_fic prompt: "Any, Any, celebrating the recovery at the end of a lengthy illness/injury."Cam's first day back at school after spending all summer recovering.





	Worth the Price

“You ready for this?” JD asked.

Evan hovered behind him anxiously. It had been a long summer, after that disastrous road trip home from DC after General Hammond’s funeral. Thanks to Vala and JD’s quick work with the goa’uld healing device, Cam had made an excellent recovery, but it was touch-and-go. Cam had spent two weeks in the infirmary at Stargate Command with Dr. Lam and the best medical professionals available watching over him. His parents had been devastated about not being able to visit him, and as soon as he was released, Frank and Wendy practically moved into Casa Atlantica. Evan and John had to resume teaching, and JD ended up withdrawing from summer semester so he could cover Cam’s summer classes.

Tyler found full-time work at a local garage but was home every night, Brenda at his side, to help Evan in the kitchen and JD around the house. Rodney and John were at Casa Atlantica more often than not. Between Wendy, who had experience helping Frank after he recovered from his crash, and Brenda’s mother Nadine, who was a registered nurse, Cam had his every need seen to at home, plus people on hand to transport him to physical therapy regularly.

Cousin Sookie and Mom even came to visit, and they and Evan spent time in the kitchen churning out mountains of delicious food to keep the troops happy (and crying and talking softly whenever Evan remembered how close he had come to losing his entire family).

John’s family didn’t come to visit. Their contribution was in typical Sheppard fashion - money - but in an entirely unexpected way. Woolsey and Naomi had gone to great lengths to bring the wrath of the SGC and IOA down on that small town, its police force, and hospital in the aftermath of everything. Dave Sheppard hired a PR expert to publicize the affair nationally and even internationally so the entire world has horrified at what had been done to a man and his family but there weren’t reporters lurking in the bushes outside the house or the school or at the gates of the base. John had been sort of embarrassed and apologetic about all the fuss his brother was making for them until they’d gotten a call from the First Lady, of all people, wishing Cam a speedy recovery. Then he’d been sort of proud of his family’s contribution.

After a summer fraught with worry, tension, frustration, and overwhelming love and support, Cam’s doctors had officially declared him fit for duty, just in time for the first day of school.

Evan, Cam, JD, and John were in the faculty parking lot, hovering by the side door where they always went in. JD had arranged with Principal Connors to still help out here and there even though he was enrolled in school full-time for the fall (as was Tyler, in the auto mechanic program he’d wanted so much). They were preparing to face their first day back.

“I’m ready,” Cam said.

John nodded and pulled open the door, stepped aside so Cam could wheel himself inside.

“Cammie!”

Evan came up short at the wall of sound. Seemingly every student and teacher in school was gathered in the hallway. There were balloons and streamers and a massive banner strung across the hallway. _Welcome Back Mr. Mitchell!_

Tyler and Brenda were there, too, on the edge of the crowd, smiling broadly. Cam’s parents and Evan’s mother were beside them, beaming brighter than the noonday sun.

Cam pressed his hand to his mouth, his eyes filling with tears. But then he managed a shaky smile, and Keena, who’d spent the summer in rehab for her meth addiction, swarmed him for a hug. JD and John immediately moved into crowd control mode. Evan hung back, ready to grab Cam’s chair and wheel him to safety, but the students and faculty alike were gentle and respectful, welcoming Cam back, telling him how they’d missed him, that they’d kept him in their prayers and sent him good vibes and worried about him.

Principal Connors let the entire welcoming celebration last for first period, and then JD escorted Cam - and his students - to class, and Evan was forced to break away from his family and head to teach his own classes.

It was the first day of school, so the students were buzzing and restless. Evan handed out the syllabus, gave them brief overviews of the subjects they’d be covering, but he was just as restless as they, so he let them share stories about what they’d done over the summer, what they were looking forward to that year. He wanted to start the semester on a positive note.

At lunch, someone other than Evan - Kristen the school social worker, perhaps - had put on an epic spread to welcome Cam back to teaching and congratulate him on his recovery. Evan watched Cam closely - he seemed a little pale around the edges - but Cam looked genuinely happy to be there. Evan could only imagine what he’d been like before his first accident, because as soon as he was in PT he was restless, wanting to get out and about doing what he’d always done, like crawling under cars with the kids and playing fetch in the park with Roo. He knew he had to stick to his PT routine and follow the doctors’ orders, but he’d chafed at all the restrictions placed on his physical activity, and more than once Evan and JD had retreated to sleep in guest rooms so tempers could cool and tensions could subside.

Cam had faced a longer and harder road to recovery after his crash. He would be okay. Evan had to trust that he would be okay. Evan was still terrified every moment of every day when JD and Cam and Tyler (and John and Rodney) were out of his sight. He’d increased his visits with Dr. Robinson on base to work on his anxiety, and he had made progress, but it was almost impossible to tear himself away from Cam after lunch.

Evan wasn’t sure how he made it through the school day, and it was all he could do not to yank Cam into his arms as soon as he saw him after the final bell rang (all of the faculty had agreed to no PDAs on campus, no matter the type of romantic relationship, since the students weren’t allowed to engage in that kind of behavior either).

After school, there was a massive welcome back dinner for Cam at O’Malley’s, including all of the Casa Atlantica crew, Brenda and her family, and Cam’s parents and Mom. That Cam was back at school and teaching full time meant that he was officially fully recovered. Yes, he still had PT, but he could get back to life as it had been Before.

After the meal, they drove Mom and Cam’s parents to the airport, and then finally, finally it was home. Evan slipped Tyler a fifty so he could take Brenda to a late movie and for a midnight snack so he, Cam, and JD would have the house all to themselves, and John and Rodney wisely took themselves over to Casa Atlantica Too once everyone was back home.

Because Cam was officially recovered, his physical therapist cleared him for resuming all sexual activities he’d engaged in Before. The therapist had been very calm and professional, fielding questions about what sex acts and positions Cam was cleared for, and this was the first time in a long time - too damn long - they could do whatever they wanted.

As soon as they were alone in their bedroom, JD climbed into Cam’s lap, unbuttoning his shirt slowly. “What do you want? We can do it all.”

Cam was sitting in the middle of the bed, against the headboard, since this was his special night and he got all the attention. Evan knelt beside him, ready for whatever they wanted. All three of them were still fully dressed. Evan’s pulse was hammering. Anything Cam wanted, anything at all. So many things they hadn’t done, that Evan missed, that he knew JD missed, that Cam definitely missed.

Cam leaned in, pressed a kiss to JD’s mouth, and reached up to still his hands. “Hey. I know we’re all excited, but - it’s been a long day. I’m exhausted. Can we just - relax? No pressure. Just the three of us _being_. I can’t remember the last time we did that.”

JD blinked. “Oh. Sure. Yeah, if that’s what you want.”

Cam smiled, and how had Evan not seen? He looked exhausted. Evan pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Are you all right? Do you want me to get you a glass of water or a snack or -?”

Cam kissed him full on, smoothing a hand up and down his ribs. “Evan. Relax. I won’t expire if you stop waiting on me hand and foot for a second or a minute or, heaven forbid, a few hours. I’m perfectly happy where I am with my two favorite fellas, cuddled up in bed. You can read or draw or play video games or whatever.”

JD needed no prodding. He scrambled off of Cam’s lap and poked in the bedside table for his Gameboy (he’d resisted upgrading to a Nintendo DS despite both John and Tyler’s recommendations). Cam leaned over and scooped up the book he’d been reading, a biography of the Wright Brothers. So Evan picked up the book he’d been reading, a teen fantasy novel that Brenda had recommended, and curled up beside Cam, tangling his legs with Cam’s and resting his head on Cam’s chest, using his belly to prop up the book.

JD snuggled in on Cam’s other side, pinging noises and midi music emitting from his Gameboy.

This was nice. Cam was right. Evan couldn’t remember the last time they’d been still with each other.

Evan got lost in the world of super-villains and the rebels who dared to fight back, enjoying Cam’s warmth and the steady cadence of his heart, the soft rise and fall of his breathing.

And then Cam said, “Can you not do that? It’s irritating.”

“Sorry,” JD said, and immediately switched his Gameboy to mute.

“Not that,” Cam said. “That thing you’re doing to my foot.”

Evan liked to rub his feet against Cam’s because his feet were soft and warm. “Sorry. Just habit, I guess.”

“It’s just kind of irritating,” Cam grumbled.

Evan shrugged, though hurt lanced through him. “You never complained about it before.” And then he realized. He prodded Cam’s foot with his toe. “You can feel that?”

“Yes,” Cam said, tone snappish.

Evan sat up. He prodded Cam again. “You can _feel_ that?”

“I already said yes -” Cam cut himself off, eyes wide. “I can feel my foot!” He tossed his book on the nightstand and yanked the covers aside, and the three of them stared down at his feet.

JD set his book down very carefully. “Can you wiggle your toes?”

Cam’s brow furrowed. Evan’s heart jumped into his throat when Cam’s big toe twitched.

JD reached down, drew his fingertip up the arch of Cam’s foot. “Did you feel that?”

Cam’s entire body shivered. “Yeah. I did.”

JD stroked Cam’s foot again, and his chest hitched.

“That feels really good.”

Evan tilted his head, considering. “Were you ticklish on your feet, before the accident?”

“I don’t remember,” Cam said. “People stopped trying to tickle me when I was, I don’t know, seven?”

Evan caught JD’s gaze, and JD’s eyes glinted wickedly.

“Well,” Evan said, peeling off his shirt, “maybe it’s time we find out just how ticklish you are.”

Cam’s eyes went wide, and Evan leaned in for a kiss. Cam moaned into his mouth, and out of the corner of his eye, Evan saw JD brushing kisses along Cam’s instep.

“I’d say pretty ticklish,” JD said.

Evan grinned against Cam’s mouth. “That’s a good initial hypothesis, but we need to experiment further, don’t you agree?”

JD resumed unbuttoning his shirt. “I absolutely agree.”

Evan slid down to the foot of the bed, cradled Cam’s over foot carefully in his hands and stroked along his sole and instep, tracing his toes and the curve of his ankle, while JD straddled Cam’s thighs and kissed him deeply. The fun was only just beginning.

If they went to see the doctors at the SGC for an emergency check-up and Cam blushed terribly when Dr. Lam examined his foot, checking for his levels of sensation, Evan considered the price well worth it.


End file.
